I had Saturday circled on my tennis calendar. I've had it circled for about a month now. Holly played host to the Red and White Holly Invite, which consisted of eight schools, some of which are among the best in the state.
Birmingham Marian, Clarkston and Port Huron Northern all shared the tournament title with 18 points. Farmington Hills Mercy and Midland Dow tied for fourth with 16 points. Now that's competitive balance.
Marian, ranked No.1 in Division 2, and PH Northern, ranked No. 1 in Division 1, each won three flights, while Clarkston, No. 4 in Division 1, won two and Mercy one. For good measure, Ann Arbor Huron and Midland Dow, ranked Nos. 7-8 in Division 1, were also there.
As expected, Clarkston and Port Huron Northern dominated singles play, with Katie Brozovich and Lexi Baylis winning at 1-2 singles for the Wolves, while Northern's Lizzie and Rae Brozovich won 3-4 titles.
Marian did most of its damage at doubles, winning titles at 2-4-5 doubles. Bridget O'hara and Tatum Schwartz, Macy and Mallory Hudson and Taty Dadadbo and Sammy Dakken showed why the Mustangs' depth may make it the team to beat at the Division 2 Finals.
Mercy surprised me, and probably many, with its strong doubles play. The Marlins scored 11 points in doubles, second only to Marian. The No. 1 team of Margaux Kabodian and Jessie Guindi were unbeaten on the day. The team was bounced from the Division 2 state rankings this past week, but something tells me it'll be back in there when the newest rankings are released early next week.
Below are the championship results. Every team played three matches at every flight, with the winners advancing forward in the eight-team bracket. Those who won their first two matches played for the flight championship.

Red and White Holly Invite
TEAMS — 1. Birmingham Marian 18; 1. Clarkston 18; 1. Port Huron Northern 18; 4. Farmington Hills Mercy 16; 4. Midland Dow 14; 6. Ann Arbor Huron 10; 7. Grand Blanc 8; 8. Holly 3
CHAMPIONSHIP SINGLES — 1. Katie Brozovich (C) d. Taylor Sweeney (PHN) 6-4, 6-1; 2. Lexi Baylis (C) d. Allie Sweeney (PHN) 6-0, 6-0; 3. Lizzie Brozovich (PHN) d. Catherine Christian (BM) 6-4, 6-3; 4. Rae Brozovich (PHN) d. Abbey Hubregsen 6-0, 6-0                
CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLES — 1. Margaux Kabodian-Jessie Guindi (FHM) d. Alexis Wertz-Fran Basha (PHN) 3-6, 6-2, (13-11); 2. Bridget O'hara-Tatum Schwartz (BM) d. Catherine Haslam-Nicole Dobrzeleski (MD) 6-1, 6-0; 3. Amy Tseng-Maggie Bacheller (PHN) d. Laura Williams-Julie Flanagan (FHM) 6-4, 6-3; 4. Mallory Hudson-Macy Hudson (BM) d. Monique Zentner-Katie Hubregsen (C) 6-2, 6-3; 5. Taty Dadadbo-Sammy Dakken (BM) d. Caroline Peterson-Megan Nadolsky 6-0, 6-3

Don't count out the Maples
All season long we've been watching Birmingham Seaholm battle on without its No. 1 player, Nancy Benda. I felt Seaholm, along with Marian, were the two teams best equipped to overtake Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern - which has won the last six Division 2 state titles - this year. I soon added Andover to that mix.
Many thought Seaholm's chances were all but gone when Benda went down with a stress fracture in her foot. But what happened on Saturday has me thinking the Maples have more than a legitimate shot to win their first state title since 2004.
Seaholm beat Forest Hills Northern 6-2 at the Seaholm Quad. And that was with the team voiding Benda's No. 1 position to Claire Aleck. The win didn't come easy, as three of the Maples' wins came in three sets.
This Wednesday, Seaholm travels to Marian. I'm going to be very interested in how that plays out. It's going to go a long way in determining which team gets the upper hand in seeding for both the regional and state tournaments.

Ravens solid at Daily Tribune Invitational
Royal Oak finished second at the Daily Tribune Invitational Saturday, runner-up to Warren Regina. Catherine Gray (2nd singles) and Riana Mandabat and Sarah Rusinowski (2nd doubles) captured flight championships for the Ravens. Royal Oak Shrine finished fourth.

Groves wins at Mattawan
The Falcons finished a perfect 3-0 at the Mattawan tournament Saturday. All four doubles flights finished unbeaten on the day to lead the way. Claire Nader and Simay Mamassian at No. 1, Kelly Greer and Kasey Rechter at No. 2, Samantha Olmstead and Shayna Brickman at No. 3 and Lucy Bolerjack and Rayven Goodwin at No. 4 lost a combined one set on the day.

Lahser wins in Dexter
The Lahser varsity girls captured the title at the Dexter Invitational Saturday afternoon. The Knights won six flight championships, and sophomore No. 1 Mollie Fox did not give up a game in her two wins.
Runnerup North Farmington captured one flight - Noelle Visser at No. 4 singles - and Dexter won the No. 4 doubles title. Results are below.

Dexter Invitational
TEAM SCORES: Bloomfield Hills Lahser 14, North Farmington 7, Dexter 3
CHAMPIONSHIP SINGLES: 1. Mollie Fox (L) d. Akanksha Vaishnav (NF) 6-0, 6-0; 2. Ani Carvajal (L) d. Rachel Gringlas (NF) 6-2, 6-2; 3. Meryl Reams (L) d. Anisha Konanur (NF) 6-1, 6-1; 4. Noelle Visser (NF) d. Kenya Sanchez (L) 7-6, 6-4
CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLES: 1. Ellyce Ferguson-Jacqueline Shandler (L) d. Sarah Tobin-Marian Vicini (NF) 7-5, 5-7, 6-1; 2. Lindsey Ferguson-Claudia Fenzi (L) d. Christine Dezeeuw-Elle Presley (D) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4; 3. Jessica Dahm-Laura Redman (L) d. Jessicu Wu-Dana Abzulhamid 6-3, 7-5; 4. Natalie Josephson-Kristen Ewen (D) d. Katie Robinson-Sarah Wirthlin (L) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5